Rachel Simmons: My Personal Philosophy Of A Leader

Leadership Philosophy

What is Leadership? Leadership is not a common concept to consider on your own. You’re taught at a young age that you follow someone until a task is presented to you in which those who have led feel you’re prepared to take the next step, at which time you sink or swim. Leadership to me is so much more than being tasked with getting your group from point A to point B. It involves understanding, sympathy, courage, and a willingness to go outside the typical roles that have been set forth before us and shatter it to model the complex situations that we are faced with on a regular basis.

When faced with the question of who has influenced you in leadership roles, we commonly look to those that have been placed in these positions

As the First Class to my Chief, Rachel Simmons embodies the role of a leader. Her confidence and knowledge was undeniable, she earned trust amongst myself and those senior to me to lead in our absence and strategically built a solid foundation with those around her to run a smooth ship. Those attributes aside, that didn’t make her the leader I am influenced be. In 2021, Rachel was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer and given the unfathomable news of her life on a timeline, ten years maybe more, but an inevitable end. For most people, we take this news and naturally go to the devastating realization that our time is short, and we wallow. For Rachel, she never considered anything but fighting and winning the battle ahead of her, she looked at all the odds, and said “not today.” That’s the epitome of a leader, someone who has seen the challenge ahead of them, and with everything against them decides that they cannot sit ideally by and allow the challenge to overtake them. Her perseverance and tenacity have been the driving force for me in my continued desire to overcome the challenges I have been faced with and offered me an understanding

For me that includes these three items: Celebrating People (30), Sharing a dream of the future (12) and ask for feedback on my actions (16). After reviewing my LPI360 and reading the comments centered around these topics I have come to see that where I feel I’m lacking others may feel the same but not for the same reason. A continuing theme that was noted was interact with all those surrounding me more and offer my viewpoints and praise. There are times when I am not the most confident person and have a tendency to stay within my shell but hearing from different levels that more of my presence is wanted, offers me a feeling of want from those a work with, sometimes I forget that empowering myself emboldens others. Incorporating myself more into the crew that I work near is the first step in achieving these goals, gathering during more all hands and recognizing those who step up and take on separate tasking away from primary responsibilities is key in advancing this image. Another tactic I would like to implement for both 12 and 16 is to perform more regular meetings with those I supervise and offer an expectations discussion of both the inbound positions and what they should expect of me. Offering up that in an immediate timeframe establishes guidance and also a comfort level where feedback is viewed as positive and not a fear tactic.